First Sunday in Lent Worship Service
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be gathering together for worship service on Zoom using the following information:
MEETING ID: 5977365682
MEETING PASSWORD: 204934
You can also join us for Facebook live >> https://www.facebook.com/StPeterswol
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St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT – Coronavirus
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
02-21-2021 10:00AM Worship
+ Repentance Through God’s Mercy +
CONFESSION OF OUR SINS:
L People of God, during these 40 days of Lent return to God with all your heart, with tears and fasting, with faithful prayers and fervent loving. [Silence for reflection.] Let us confess…
C Eternal God, I confess that I am only human, created by you.
I have come from dust, and someday I will return to dust. My physical life on earth will end.
Eternal God, I confess that I am also a sinner.
My thoughts and my words, my attitudes and my actions all reveal my failures. I pray for your mercy.
Eternal God, I confess that I am also an unsure saint.
I sometimes look for an easier gospel, a lighter cross, a less demanding Savior, and a cheaper ticket to heaven. I need your renewal as I seek to be faithful.
Here I am, Lord. Forgive my sins. Revive my spirit. Give me new life. Amen.
L Oh, my goodness, friends, there is some great GOOD news!
God is for us – much more than we are for ourselves.
In the waters of baptism, grace abounds for you and for all.
God turns to you in love and puts away every sin, every wrong turn, you brokenness and shame, through the life, death, and resurrection of (+) Jesus Christ, the One God sent to save the world.
You are forgiven, be at peace, try again, live a life of faith and love. Amen.
OPENING SONG: “Lead Me, Guide Me”
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY:
Steadfast, faithful, covenant God,
you saved Noah and his family from drowning in the waters of the flood,
and in the wilderness of temptation you protected your Son from sin.
Renew us in the gift of baptism, strengthen us in our covenant relationship with you.
May your holy angels be with us, that the wicked foe may have no power over us.
We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
+ Renewal Through God’s Word +
FIRST READING: GENESIS 9:8-17 [God’s first covenant: a rainbow promise of love.]
9:8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,
9:9 “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you,
9:10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.
9:11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
9:12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:
9:13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
9:14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,
9:15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
9:16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
9:17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
BLACK HISTORY MOMENT: Spoken and Sung Word by various St. Peter’s Folk
SECOND READING: 1 PETER 3:18-22 [The suffering and death of Jesus: once for all.]
3:18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit,
3:19 in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison
3:20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.
3:21 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you–not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
3:22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
GOSPEL VERSE: “Lord, let my heart be good soil, open to the seed of your word.
Lord, let my heart be good soil, where love can grow and peace is understood.
When my heart is hard, break the stone away.
When my heart is cold, warm it with the day.
When my heart is lost, lead me on your way.
Lord, let my heart, Lord, let my heart, Lord, let my heart be good soil.”
THE GOSPEL: MARK 1:9-15 [Jesus knows all about temptation.]
1:9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
1:10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.
1:11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
1:12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
1:13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
1:14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,
1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
THE SERMON: Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil
SONG SELECTION
A CREEDAL STATEMENT FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH:
We believe that God has been present with us in our past. In the challenges and triumphs of our individual and collective narratives, God has been there, God has seen us through, and God has done some mighty good things. God calls us to retell both the pleasant and the unpleasant, our whole story, lest we forget whose we are and where we have come from and how we got through.
We believe that God is present with us here and now as we seek to hold onto our identity as God’s children and our purpose as God’s anointed. We are called to be bearers of light, makers of justice and peace, and heralds of good news to all the world. No matter this world’s trials, tribulations, and temptations, we will not give in, we will not give up, we will not worry about failure. We are somebody, created by God, saved by Jesus, and guided by the Spirit… with something to share, special gifts for service, compassion to offer, a story to live. We don’t believe God brought us this far just to leave us.
We believe that God will be with us as we go forward to shape our story in the days ahead. We will seek to stay in the path of faithful living and fervent loving that Jesus has demonstrated and commanded. We will hold onto the promise that, no matter what, everything is gonna be alright… that, one day, hatred and sin and suffering will cease… and that, now and forever, we are held in the loving arms of our God. Amen.
OFFERING [In this season of Lent we want to remember God’s steadfast love and mercy, and to reexamine our response to the covenant relationship we have with God. Does our financial giving and our daily living give full expression of our faith, and God’s faithfulness? Dare to respond with gratitude and generosity!]
THE OFFERTORY SONG: “I Know It Was the Blood”
- I know it was the blood… I know it was the blood… I know it was the blood for me.
One day when I was lost, he died upon the cross… I know it was the blood for me.
- It was my Savior’s blood…
- They pierced him in the side…
- He’s coming back again
OFFERING PRAYER (from PSALM 51):
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain me with your bountiful spirit.
Then I will teach other sinners your ways; and I will eagerly sing of your goodness. Amen.
MUSIC SELECTION: Dennis Fortune
THE PRAYERS… We pray that THE WAY OF THE CROSS will continue to impact our lives and transform the world!
THE LORD’S PRAYER
+ Righteousness Through God’s Spirit +
CLOSING SONG: “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me”
- I want Jesus to walk with me… I want Jesus to walk with me.
All along my pilgrim journey, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
- In my trials, Lord, walk with me… In my trials, Lord, walk with me.
When my heart is almost breaking, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
- When I’m in trouble, Lord, walk with me… When I’m in trouble, Lord, walk with me.
When my head is bowed in sorrow, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
THE BENEDICTION by the Pastor… God calls us to “return home” to faithful discipleship!